Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
by Phillip Hoose
“Hoose fashions a compelling narrative that balances the momentous events of the civil rights movement with the personal crises of a courageous young woman.”
The Horn Book
“Phillip Hoose’s narrative, which was drawn in large part from interviews with Colvin and others as well as additional research, paints a fresh, insightful picture of those life-changing times in Montgomery, looking at them through the experiences of a teenager who faced challenges for being both young and black.”
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices
by Phillip Hoose
“Hoose fashions a compelling narrative that balances the momentous events of the civil rights movement with the personal crises of a courageous young woman.”
The Horn Book
“Phillip Hoose’s narrative, which was drawn in large part from interviews with Colvin and others as well as additional research, paints a fresh, insightful picture of those life-changing times in Montgomery, looking at them through the experiences of a teenager who faced challenges for being both young and black.”
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices
Claudette Colvin is a lesser known civil rights figure in American history. She was 15 years old when she, like Rosa Parks after her, stood up to racial segregation and refused to give up her seat for a white woman in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. She was not sitting in the four rows of "whites only" seats in the front of the bus, but when an additional white woman got on the bus Claudette was expected to vacate the seat. Her friends moved to the back of the bus, but Claudette bravely refused. Like Rosa Parks, she was arrested. Unlike Rosa Parks, Claudette was only a teenager, but was still dragged out, put in handcuffs, and put in an adult jail.
After she got out of jail, she was contacted with civil rights activists such as E.D. Nixon , Rosa Parks, and Fred Grey. Later that same year, Rosa Parks was also arrested for not vacating her bus seat for a white person. It was Rosa Parks who would forever be remembered as a hero for this brave act, as the civil rights leaders felt more comfortable with her as the face and voice of the movement. Claudette was equally brave, but her rocky history and impoverished background made them uneasy to use her for the movement, especially as she had become an unwed pregnant teen by the time of her trial. Unfortunately, after her release on bail she was treated more of an outcast than a civil rights hero.
Later she would be able to make a contribution to the African-American civil rights movement when she became a plaintiff in the famous Browder v Gayle lawsuit against Montgomery and Alabama in regards to the unconstitutionality of bus segregation, making a case against the city and state by telling her own story. Despite her part in this trial, the civil rights leaders did not contact her to let her know the news about the decision to abolish bus segregation.
The organization of the book is designed to aid in a full understanding of both Claudette and the time she lived in. Readers are apt to understand this important era of civil rights history more deeply as the author intertwines historical record with Claudette's own personal memoir of these times. Text boxes in the margins highlight and explain important points as the story moves through in chronological order, telling both personal and historical stories. The first part of the book reveals the the life and times for African Americans living in Montgomery in 1955, and the second part portrays the Browder v Gayle case and the passionate resentment of many living in Montgomery at the time.
The story has a beautiful, rich layout, with primary documents such as newspaper headlines, mug shots, and black and white photos interspersed throughout. Some of the photos and documents reveal the disturbing cruelty of the times, such as a picture of a sign reading "NO dogs negros mexicans". These illustrations not only lend authenticity to the story, but engage the reader in a visual and emotional level.
This book could be used as a resource at it contains helpful organizational elements such as a table of contents at the beginning listing the chapter numbers and contents, as well as an epilogue, an author's note, a selected bibliography, notes, acknowledgements, picture credits, and finally, an index.
February is African American History month, but any month may be a good time to delve deeper into the civil rights struggle and cultural roots of African American history. One great way is to read other biographies and histories of African Americans who changed history. Another avenue of exploration is through the arts - an exhibit of African American poetry and music, for instance. Further reading could include any past Coretta Scott King Book Awards, which focus on the appreciation of African American culture.
Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009. ISBN-10: 0312661053
No comments:
Post a Comment